Microsoft profit rises 23%, beating estimates

Microsoft’s profits rose 23 percent in its first fiscal quarter, to $4.29 billion, according to financial results just released by the company.

Revenue was $13.76 billion, up 27 percent, which Microsoft is describing as its fastest first-quarter revenue growth since 1999, which was approaching the height of the last technology boom. Most significant, from Wall Street’s perspective, is the earnings-per-share figure of 45 cents — topping, by 6 cents, the average estimate among analysts polled in advance by Thomson Financial.

I’m now sifting through the data, looking at the performance of different parts of the company. More to come.

Update, 1:35 p.m. A couple of divisional results of note:

The Entertainment and Devices Division, apparently benefitting from the “Halo 3″ launch, turned an operating profit of $165 million, on sales of $1.9 billion. That compares with revenue of $1 billion and a loss of $142 million in the same quarter last year.

Going the opposite direction was Microsoft’s Online Services Business, which reported a loss of $264 million for the quarter, compared with a loss of $102 million in the same period last year. That’s likely to be a subject of serious questions on the company’s call with analysts, coming up shortly. It’s particularly interesting in light of Google’s blockbuster quarter.

Update, 2 p.m.: Chris Liddell, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, said via phone just now that analysts shouldn’t be surprised by the wider operating loss in the Online Services Business, given the company’s previous guidance. He cited factors including capital expenditures by the company on things such as data centers.

In a note to clients, analyst Sarah Friar of Goldman Sachs called it a “very strong quarter” overall and noted that the results “should be the catalyst the stock has needed to get investors to take a second look.”

More to come after the conference call, which starts at 2:30 p.m.

Update, 2:40 p.m.: Microsoft also boosted its revenue guidance for the full fiscal year, saying it now expects revenue in the range of $58.8 billion to $59.7 billion — about $2 billion more than the previous forecast on both the high and low ends.

Shares of the company are up significantly in after-hours trading, rising more than 10 percent to more than $35 a share. Shares had closed at $32.01 in regular trading, an increase of about 2.5 percent.